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Salah's long-term potential 'not important', says focused Klopp

Mohamed Salah's extraordinary form has dominated the agenda of late, but Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has more immediate concerns.

Published

25 May 2018

As Liverpool prepare to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final, Jurgen Klopp says he is not interested in suggestions Mohamed Salah could prove to be the equal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The Egypt international has matched Ronaldo's 44 goals in all competitions this season to loom as a legitimate contender for the Ballon d'Or, which has been won five times each by Ronaldo and his Barcelona rival Messi during the past 10 years.

Should Salah maintain his extraordinary form next term and beyond, the 25-year-old would surely find himself considered to be among the game's elite.

But Klopp dismissed the significance of ranking individual players, with the decider in Kiev on Saturday taking up all of the German's focus.

"That's not important," he told a news conference at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium when asked about Salah's prospects of succeeding the two superstars.

"No manager is interested in that. Messi and Ronaldo deserve their praise and all the things they've won. For years they were on that level and now are 30-something but still on that level.

"If Mo can do that, we will see. He has fantastic potential. There is one more game to go but the season was outstanding. The next few seasons will show if he can do something similar."